The 2012 Kern Lipid Conference will explore the interface between lipidomics, systems biology and factors determining cardiometabolic risk so that research scientists and trainees working in diverse disciplines will be brought together in a truly unique and collegiate forum to address research relevant to vital health priorities. The Kern Conference has traditionally focused on the relationships between lipid metabolism and complex cardiometabolic diseases such as dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis and diabetes, and the 2012 meeting will be no exception. The meeting program is designed to cover new information on the emerging role of systems biology approaches for delineating the causes of complex cardiometabolic diseases. The last several years have witnessed a revival in interest in systems biology approaches to multicomponent, biologic processes such as the pathologies leading to type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemias and atherosclerosis. This is, in part, due to technical developments, such as expression arrays and next generation sequencing, that have resulted in the ability to interrogate biologic systems at a global level and open the door for implementing personalized medicine approaches for the treatment of complex disease. Second, new computational and mathematical approaches, such as network modeling, are being developed to extract biologic information from high throughput and other data. And, finally, there is a growing realization that reductionist approaches will not, alone, allow us to fully address problems such as the genetic and environmental interaction in common forms of heart disease and diabetes. The Board of Directors has selected Drs. A. Jake Lusis, Margrit Schwarz and Roger Newton to be the Co- Chairs of the meeting. All three are members of the Kern Board of Directors. Dr. Lusis is Professor of Human Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research has focused on the genetics of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Schwarz is Director of Atherosclerosis, Amgen, Inc. Her interests are in lipid metabolism and cardiovascular diseases. Roger Newton, Ph.D., is President of Esperion Therapeutics, Plymouth, MI. His interests are in pharmacology and cardiovascular disease. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The goal of this meeting is to provide attendees an opportunity to learn the latest advances in lipidomics and systems biology approaches, as well as, hear and discuss presentations on their relevance as tools for investigating cardiometabolic disease.